Near Upset Falls Short, Gauchos Lose in Five Sets at UC Irvine

IRVINE, Calif. -
In a near upset, No. 12 UCSB came up short and lost, 3-2, at third-ranked UC Irvine in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) men's volleyball action Wednesday. Down 2-1, the Anteaters rallied to win, with scores going 30-28, 27-30, 30-32, 31-29, and 15-12 from the Bren Center.

With its fourth straight loss, UCSB fell to 3-8 overall and 1-7 in MPSF play. UC Irvine, which has won the past nine meetings between the two squads, improved to 11-2 and 7-1.

UCI's Jordan DuFault led his team in kills with 15. Jon Steller and Kevin Wynne had 14 apiece and Taylor Wilson added 13. Ryan Ammerman and Anthony Spittle split time at setter for the Anteaters, notching
38 and 27 assists, respectively.

UCSB hit .229 for the match, while Irvine swung at .287.

Four out of UCSB's last five matches have gone to five sets, with the Gauchos holding a 1-3 record in those contests.

UCSB hosts Pacific on Friday, Feb. 20 and Stanford on Saturday, Feb. 21. Both matches start at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online through Ticket Return, by calling the UCSB Athletics Ticket Office at (805) 893-UCSB, or by visiting the Ticket Office in the Intercollegiate Athletics building on campus.

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**UCSB - a nationally recognized university in both academic and athletic excellence - is located on the central coast of California in a picturesque campus and community setting on the Pacific Ocean. Each year over 450 Division 1 Gaucho student-athletes compete for national championships, succeed in the classroom, and give back to the community.**